Some Dems Get Serious About Curbing Federal Spending

[Zoom-boing]

Feingold's legislation would return $244 million of unspent Wall Street bailout money to taxpayers. It would postpone putting men back on the moon, saving an estimated $24 billion. And it would eliminate annual pay raises for Congress, saving $80 million.

“It is the economy, stupid, but it's really controlling the economy and spending stupid,” Feingold said.

And Feingold is not alone. North Dakota Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgen want to set up a bipartisan panel -- similar to the base closure commission -- that would have the power to make massive but unpopular spending cuts.

"Is it going to happen? No," Estrich said. "But it reflects Congress' recognition that they have a problem and they don't know how to fix it."

Tracking Your Taxes: Some Dems Get Serious About Curbing Federal Spending - FOXNews.com


Bullshit, they don't want to fix it.
I say fire 'em and get people in there who will do the job.

 

[Meister]

Feingold's legislation would return $244 million of unspent Wall Street bailout money to taxpayers. It would postpone putting men back on the moon, saving an estimated $24 billion. And it would eliminate annual pay raises for Congress, saving $80 million.

“It is the economy, stupid, but it's really controlling the economy and spending stupid,” Feingold said.

And Feingold is not alone. North Dakota Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgen want to set up a bipartisan panel -- similar to the base closure commission -- that would have the power to make massive but unpopular spending cuts.

"Is it going to happen? No," Estrich said. "But it reflects Congress' recognition that they have a problem and they don't know how to fix it."

Tracking Your Taxes: Some Dems Get Serious About Curbing Federal Spending - FOXNews.com


Bullshit, they don't want to fix it.
I say fire 'em and get people in there who will do the job.

I saw this yesterday, and the first thing that came to my mind is that an election year is coming up. If they were so fiscal conservative, they would have never voted the way that they did. These politicians know that this will be in the msm, and that the sheep will listen, and drink another glass of Kool-Aid.
Everything in politics these days seems to be turning into a dog and pony show. I just hope all of America wakes up in time to figure it out.

 

[Oddball]

 

[Modbert]

Russ Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country.

I wish he ran for President in 2008. Considering he's only 56, he has time thankfully.

I want any of you so called Conservatives to look up his record and say he'd be tough to vote for.

 

[SFC Ollie]

You guys didn't really leave anything to add. This dog & pony show is purely for elections next year. People with any common sense can see it. The kool-aid drinkers will be thirsting for more.

 

[Meister]

Russ Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country.

I wish he ran for President in 2008. Considering he's only 56, he has time thankfully.

I want any of you so called Conservatives to look up his record and say he'd be tough to vote for.

To a liberal Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country, let it be noted.

 

[Modbert]

To a liberal Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country, let it be noted.

Russ Feingold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which of these positions do you disagree with:

On July 14, 2005, Feingold introduced a bill in the Senate that would ban lobbyists from giving gifts to senators and impose a $50,000 fine for violating the ban, force lawmakers to sign statements saying that lobbyists did not pay their travel expenses, forbid lawmakers from traveling on corporate jets, bar congressmen, staffers, and executive branch officials from serving as lobbyists for two years after leaving office, and require that lobbying reports be disclosed on a quarterly, rather than semi-annual, basis.[4]

Feingold is also a well-known advocate for reductions in pork barrel spending and corporate welfare. Citizens Against Government Waste, the Concord Coalition, and Taxpayers for Common Sense, three nonpartisan organizations dedicated to those causes, have repeatedly commended him.[42]

Feingold, who was elected to Congress on a promise not to accept pay raises while in office, has so far returned over $50,000 in such raises to the U.S. Treasury.[43] In addition, he is notoriously frugal in his office's spending, and sends back the money that he does not use. In one six-month period in 1999, for example, his office received $1.787 million in appropriations and returned $145,000, a higher percentage than any other senator.[44]

Feingold was the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act when first voted on in 2001.[45] At the time, Feingold stated that provisions in the act infringed upon citizens' civil liberties.[46]

When the bill was up for renewal in late December 2005, Feingold led a bipartisan coalition of senators that included Lisa Murkowski, Ken Salazar, Larry Craig, Dick Durbin, and John Sununu to remove some of the act's more controversial provisions. He led a successful filibuster against renewal of the act. This ultimately led to a compromise on some of its provisions. This compromise bill passed the Senate on March 2, 2006, by a vote of 89-10. Feingold was among the ten senators who voted nay, stating that the bill still lacked necessary protections for some civil liberties.

Feingold announced in January 2009 that he was planning to introduce a constitutional amendment which would prohibit governors from making temporary Senate appointments instead holding special elections.

Feingold was one of 28 US senators to vote against H.J. Resolution 114, which authorized President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq in 2002.[51]

On August 17, 2005, he became the first senator to call for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and urge that a timetable for that withdrawal be set. He called other Democrats "timid" for refusing to take action sooner, and suggested December 31, 2006 as the date for total withdrawal of troops. On the subject of Bush's assertion that a deadline would be helpful to Iraqi insurgents, Feingold said, "I think he's wrong. I think not talking about endgames is playing into our enemies' hand."[27]

Once elected, he opposed the Clinton health care plan, saying that it did too much for the insurance industry and not enough for the uninsured. During the Bush administration, he has opposed the enactment of Medicare Part D and authored a bill to require the Senate leadership to submit health care reform bills.[55]

On July 24, 2006, at a press conference at the Martin Luther King Heritage Health Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Feingold announced that he had authored the State-Based Health Care Reform Act, a bill to create a pilot program for a system of universal health care under which each U.S. state would create a program to provide its citizenry with universal health insurance, and the federal government would provide the funding. The bill would create a non-partisan "Health Care Reform Task Force," which will provide five-year federal grants to two or three states. The program is expected to cost $32 billion over 10 years.[56]

And that's not all to say the least. But go ahead, tell me what you disagree with.

 

[SFC Ollie]

About 50 % of it. But he's not my Senator.

 

[Meister]

To a liberal Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country, let it be noted.

Russ Feingold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which of these positions do you disagree with:

On July 14, 2005, Feingold introduced a bill in the Senate that would ban lobbyists from giving gifts to senators and impose a $50,000 fine for violating the ban, force lawmakers to sign statements saying that lobbyists did not pay their travel expenses, forbid lawmakers from traveling on corporate jets, bar congressmen, staffers, and executive branch officials from serving as lobbyists for two years after leaving office, and require that lobbying reports be disclosed on a quarterly, rather than semi-annual, basis.[4]

Feingold was one of 28 US senators to vote against H.J. Resolution 114, which authorized President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq in 2002.[51]

On August 17, 2005, he became the first senator to call for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and urge that a timetable for that withdrawal be set. He called other Democrats "timid" for refusing to take action sooner, and suggested December 31, 2006 as the date for total withdrawal of troops. On the subject of Bush's assertion that a deadline would be helpful to Iraqi insurgents, Feingold said, "I think he's wrong. I think not talking about endgames is playing into our enemies' hand."[27]

Once elected, he opposed the Clinton health care plan, saying that it did too much for the insurance industry and not enough for the uninsured. During the Bush administration, he has opposed the enactment of Medicare Part D and authored a bill to require the Senate leadership to submit health care reform bills.[55]

On July 24, 2006, at a press conference at the Martin Luther King Heritage Health Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Feingold announced that he had authored the State-Based Health Care Reform Act, a bill to create a pilot program for a system of universal health care under which each U.S. state would create a program to provide its citizenry with universal health insurance, and the federal government would provide the funding. The bill would create a non-partisan "Health Care Reform Task Force," which will provide five-year federal grants to two or three states. The program is expected to cost $32 billion over 10 years.[56]

And that's not all to say the least. But go ahead, tell me what you disagree with.

1. Feingold has long been an advocate for creating a system of universal health care in America. During his first run for the Senate, he endorsed the single-payer model, similar to that used by Canada
2. Feingold introduced the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2009.[39]
3. On April 4, 2006, Feingold told constituents at a listening session in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that he supported the legalization of same-sex marriage

4. Voted YES on $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program.
5. Voted NO on prohibiting eminent domain for use as parks or grazing land.

 

[Oddball]

Russ Feingold is one of the best Senators in the country.

I wish he ran for President in 2008. Considering he's only 56, he has time thankfully.

I want any of you so called Conservatives to look up his record and say he'd be tough to vote for.

He's one of the Senators where my vote lives, and the best thing I can say in his favor is that he's only slightly less of a joke than Herb Kohl and David Obey.

 

[AllieBaba]

During the last adminstration, seniors were given the option of choosing their own prescription drug plans, and it worked great.

Now the government has decided it costs too much, forcing them into medicare D or more costly options. I have old and befuddled people in my office every day hysterical trying to figure out what theyr'e supposed to do.

Well what they're supposed to DO of course is go to Medicare.gov, choose one of their plans, then pay that provider a hefty premium, and co-pay on their meds.

Subsequently, they miss their deadlines, they have no idea what's going on, and it's costing them more.

Way to go Obama administration. Our medical programs are ALREADY improving!

 

[Polk]

During the last adminstration, seniors were given the option of choosing their own prescription drug plans, and it worked great.

Now the government has decided it costs too much, forcing them into medicare D or more costly options. I have old and befuddled people in my office every day hysterical trying to figure out what theyr'e supposed to do.

Well what they're supposed to DO of course is go to Medicare.gov, choose one of their plans, then pay that provider a hefty premium, and co-pay on their meds.

Subsequently, they miss their deadlines, they have no idea what's going on, and it's costing them more.

Way to go Obama administration. Our medical programs are ALREADY improving!

They're not being "forced" into Medicare Part D. Those plans they got to choose are what Medicare Part D is. And as for paying a hefty premium and co-pay on their meds, that's how Medicare Part D has operated since the very beginning.

 

[SFC Ollie]

During the last adminstration, seniors were given the option of choosing their own prescription drug plans, and it worked great.

Now the government has decided it costs too much, forcing them into medicare D or more costly options. I have old and befuddled people in my office every day hysterical trying to figure out what theyr'e supposed to do.

Well what they're supposed to DO of course is go to Medicare.gov, choose one of their plans, then pay that provider a hefty premium, and co-pay on their meds.

Subsequently, they miss their deadlines, they have no idea what's going on, and it's costing them more.

Way to go Obama administration. Our medical programs are ALREADY improving!

They're not being "forced" into Medicare Part D. Those plans they got to choose are what Medicare Part D is. And as for paying a hefty premium and co-pay on their meds, that's how Medicare Part D has operated since the very beginning.

Medicare Part D isn't all that bad, for many seniors it is much better than they had before. Thank you Mr Bush. But still an expensive program.

 

[Polk]

During the last adminstration, seniors were given the option of choosing their own prescription drug plans, and it worked great.

Now the government has decided it costs too much, forcing them into medicare D or more costly options. I have old and befuddled people in my office every day hysterical trying to figure out what theyr'e supposed to do.

Well what they're supposed to DO of course is go to Medicare.gov, choose one of their plans, then pay that provider a hefty premium, and co-pay on their meds.

Subsequently, they miss their deadlines, they have no idea what's going on, and it's costing them more.

Way to go Obama administration. Our medical programs are ALREADY improving!

They're not being "forced" into Medicare Part D. Those plans they got to choose are what Medicare Part D is. And as for paying a hefty premium and co-pay on their meds, that's how Medicare Part D has operated since the very beginning.

Medicare Part D isn't all that bad, for many seniors it is much better than they had before. Thank you Mr Bush. But still an expensive program.

It's not bad for most seniors (though some were harmed because they're no longer eligible to take part in things like PPA) , but it could be a lot better and a lot cheaper.

 

[Harry Dresden]

 

[The Rabbi]

TARP needs to die a quick and painful death. If it takes an election year conversion for Dems to want to look like fiscal conservatives, having spent more money than every president until now, so much the better.
But I doubt voters will be fooled. Could be a win-win: Obama's policies fail and the bastards get voted out anyway.